Primerica Hires Former Morgan Stanley Wealth Chief

Ellyn McColgan, who left her job as head of global wealth management at Morgan Stanley in January 2009 after being in that position less than a year, has been recruited to serve on the board of directors at life insurance giant, Primerica Inc.

Morgan Stanley declined to comment on McColgan’s latest career move.

But, prior to joining Morgan Stanley, McColgan spent 17 years at mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments in Boston. She left in August 2007 after losing ground as a potential successor to long-time chief executive Ned Johnson.

She then moved over to Morgan Stanley, after being given the job in December 2007. McColgan took over from James Gorman, who was promoted to co-president. In an exclusive interview with On Wall Street in November 2008, she said that the opportunity to work with Gorman, who she served with on the board of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, was one of the main attractions of the role at Morgan Stanley.

However, McColgan left her position at Morgan Stanley in January 2009, following the announcement of the joint venture between Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit and Citigroup’s Smith Barney.

When McColgan left Morgan Stanley, the company issued an internal memo to employees saying: "Now, with the planning for the new Morgan Stanley Smith Barney joint venture underway, Ellyn has decided to explore other leadership opportunities in the industry, and we respect this decision."

As for her new position at Primerica, Richard Williams, chairman of the board of the Duluth Georgia-based company said in a statement: “Ellyn will be a great asset as an outside board member with a wealth of experience in our industry.”

Primerica, which provides life insurance and other financial products operated under the Citigroup umbrella prior to its sudden expansion efforts.